Cats come back, sack Hiram

Published 12:39 am Saturday, September 15, 2007

It was a good old-fashioned blistering not fit for print, Dalton head coach Ronnie McClurg said.

Players said the coaching staff really let them have it at halftime after playing raggedly before a homecoming crowd at Harmon Field on Friday night against Hiram.

But the Catamounts kept the Hornets off the scoreboard and limited their guests to 82 yards of offense in the final two quarters in surging to a 34-21 win.

“We really challenged them,” McClurg said, “and they responded.”

It was an up-and-down night for Dalton (2-1), which ran out to a 13-0 lead in the second quarter, gave up three scores to lose the advantage and won going away with three second-half touchdowns.

Dalton quarterback Harrison Scott’s 18-yard touchdown scramble followed by a pass to Caleb Taylor on the 2-point conversion tied the game at 21-all with 9:25 to play in the third period. Then, less than a minute later, Scott provided the go-ahead points on a 5-yard bootleg that was sprung by a key block from Taylor.

The Dalton defense handled its end of the bargain to make the comeback complete. The Cats limited Coshik Williams to 40 yards after the senior running back had rumbled for 171 in the first half — 95 of them on a long, winding touchdown that gave the Hornets (1-2) their first advantage of the contest.

“We got it shoved down our throats in the first half,” said Dalton running back Cameron Hudson. “We got satisfied.”

The ease with which Dalton opened the game made them carefree, players said. The Cats went 55 yards on four plays on their first drive, capped by a 31-yard screen pass from Scott to Shaquan Moore.

Dalton made it a two-touchdown game on Hudson’s 8-yard run on its second possession. Eleven plays, 118 yards, two scores and the fast track to a blowout on homecoming, or so it appeared.

“Then we just kind of stopped,” Scott said.

Hiram got back into the game on a 76-yard pass from Trip Mitchell to Marcus Middlebrooks, who split the defense and ran untouched into the end zone. Williams’ 3-yard run made it 14-13 on the first play of second quarter, and his 95-yarder, the longest play against the Cats in recent memory, gave the Hornets a 21-13 edge.

In the second quarter, Dalton had a botched center snap, four runs for no gain or negative yardage and actually suffered a quarterback sack against a three-man pass rush.

“We shot our toes off in the second quarter,” McClurg said. “We missed tackles, we gave up big plays on defense, we were fumbling kickoffs … you name it and we did it.”

Hudson and Scott got the offense back on track on the opening drive of the second half. Dalton went 71 yards on seven plays in 2:35 to tie the game.

Hiram went three-and-out on its first three possessions, and defense was starting to serve offense like fingers in a glove.

“We just stepped it up,” said senior guard D.J. Lashus, who broke a knuckle during the game. “The defense stepped up and it opened things up for the offense, and we were able to finish the game the right way.”

Trailing 28-21 with under 10 minutes to go, the Hornets managed a first down — they had only two in the second half — at their 19. But Mitchell was picked off by safety Carter Crutchfield at the Dalton 41 on the next play, and Moore sealed the game with a 24-yard scoring run three plays later.

Things get serious next week when the Cats open Region 7-4A play at Ringgold, but Scott said there was nothing inconsequential about Friday’s non-league game.

“We had to have this one,” he said. “It was important for our team and our fans. We turned it on in the second half.”